The present disclosure relates to a vehicular drive device that includes an input member drivingly coupled to an internal combustion engine through a damper, a first rotary electric machine, a second rotary electric machine, and a differential gear device, and an output device drivingly coupled to a wheel.
A device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-166548 is already known as an example of the vehicular drive device as mentioned above. In the device in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-166548, a rotational axis center [first axis A1] of the input member [input shaft I], the first rotary electric machine [MG1], and the differential gear device [power transfer PT], a rotational axis center [second axis A2] of the second rotary electric machine [MG2], and a rotational axis center [third axis A3] of the output device [output differential gear device DF] are disposed so as to be parallel to one another and positioned at vertices of a triangle as viewed in the axial direction. One gear [first gear 42] of a counter gear mechanism [C] disposed inside the triangle is commonly meshed with a gear [output gear 22] that rotates together with an output element [ring gear R] of the differential gear device and an output gear [37] of the second rotary electric machine. However, in the device in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-166548, a damper and the counter gear mechanism are disposed overlapping with each other as viewed in the axial direction and the counter gear mechanism and the second rotary electric machine are disposed overlapping with each other as viewed in the axial direction. Therefore, a length in the axial direction along the rotational axis center of the second rotary electric machine is likely to be long.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-246953 discloses a device which has a same base configuration and in which a motive power transmission pathway from the differential gear device [P] side and a motive power transmission pathway from the second rotary electric machine [electric motor M] side with respect to the output device [differential device D] are separately configured. By separating the two motive power transmission pathways with respect to the output device, it is possible to set a total gear ratio without changing positions of the respective axes and also reduce restrictions in a vehicle mounted state. However, when considering an existence of a damper that is generally provided although there is no description about a damper in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-246953, it is difficult to dispose at least the members that overlap with the damper as viewed in the axial direction close to the internal combustion engine side. Thus, the length in the axial direction along the rotational axis center of the second rotary electric machine becomes long in the same manner as the device in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-166548.